


Smoke

by kurapikakurtaaa



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: First Work Here, M/M, One-Shot, Snippet, ficlet thing, idk this is just an idea i had, in which kurapika smokes and leorio joins him, killugon is briefly mentioned, pretty short, some kissing ensues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 05:33:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6316633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurapikakurtaaa/pseuds/kurapikakurtaaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurapika smokes 5 cigarettes a night, atop a lonely building in Yorknew City. Every single night, he smokes alone, letting his thoughts muddle as cars pass by below him. Tonight, however, he has some company.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smoke

People take people for granted. That's the first thing I learned at age 13. It's still relevant at 17, 18 and 19. It's relevant at 21, tonight, as the crisp air softly blows my hair across my face, behind my head. It blows my cigarette smoke into the night, never to be seen again. Cars whir by on the ground far below, tires spinning over worn asphalt; going somewhere, somewhere, nowhere. A small flick of my finger against the cigarette sends orange-grey ashes spiraling into the streets below to be trampled on. Realizing you've taken someone for granted hurts, and it feels guilty. The thing I haven't figured out, though: why does being taken for granted feel the same way? Even though I've done nothing, I feel dirty and used. I feel absolutely disgusting, I decide, sliding my cigarette through my fingers and onto the rough rooftop I stand on. I grind my foot on it, savoring the feeling of shutting out something else's light. This is my peaceful time of night, when I can let my guard down and relax my nen after a long day of work. It's the time of day I look forward to most.

A rusty squeaking noise emits from the heavy rooftop door behind me, but I ignore it. I come up here every night, smoke 5 cigarettes, and go back inside. Every night, it's the same; and every night, the squeak of the door is the janitor, who will sometimes give me a smile of pity. I pull the white carton from my pocket, thumbing it open and sticking another thin, dry cigarette in my mouth. I light it, sniffling. 4 of 5 for the night.The cigarettes are the same, but something feels different about tonight, and it's like an itch that's begging to be scratched...only I can't quite figure out what it is. I peer around, cigarette held loosely in my fingers. I peer down at the cars, but they are the same. The sky is the same, the soft wind is the same, so what is different? I turn around, and spot the heavy, metal rooftop door open wide. It never squeaked closed, so the janitor must have left it open. I'll close it on my way down, I decide, returning my gaze to the passing cars down below. A few moments of silence pass as I flick more ash into the air. Right as I notice the now unconcealed presence beside me, a hand swipes itself across my vision and towards my cheek. The cigarette is plucked from my mouth, ashes flicked off, and popped between the lips of none other than Leorio Paladiknight.

"Another bad habit we share, hm?" he asks me, giving me a sidelong glance and grinning slyly when he sees my startled expression. He snickers, puffing smoke out of his lips in the dim midnight light.  
"Leorio, where'd you...why are you here?"  
"Don't question my ways," he smirks, drawing out his words dramatically, "just go with it."  
I furrow my brows, snatching my cigarette from his shit-eating grin.  
"Yeah, yeah, Paladiknight...how are you, anyways?"  
"I'm fine...in college now. I'll be graduating soon, and I want to open a clinic. The real question is, how is my favorite scarlet-eyed beauty these fine days?" he asks, a hint of flirtiness in his voice and maybe even a shot of liquor on his breath.  
"Fantastic," I murmur, passing him the cigarette. I accentuate my words, throwing my hands out in front of me."Just grand...peachy."  
He scoffs, puffing on the cigarette and throwing the butt onto the roof. He steps on it, pulling out another almost immediately, and hands it to me.  
"For real though, how are you?"  
I shrug, pushing grey smoke into the night air. I give Leorio a sidelong glance, and he quickly looks away.  
"Hey..."  
"Yeah?" He asks, almost too quickly for comfort.  
"Sorry...I never said that."  
He flicks me in the head and steals the cigarette back with an eye roll.  
"Stupid. You should be sorry. You had me worried sick; I could'a killed you when Gon was in the hospital."  
A moment of silence passes, as I trail a finger along the stone of the rooftop's ledge.  
"How is he? Killua?"  
"Good," he chuckles. He looks at me, laughing. "They're good."  
"What?" I ask, snatching the warm, addicting cigarette back. I've never shared with someone before, but I kind of like it.  
"You saw right through both of them, Piks." I pause at the nickname, grinning slightly. "They've both been head over heels forever. They're together now, have been for close to a year...god, I can't believe the kids are 16. They travel with Alluka; they're doing as well as ever...last I heard." he trails off. His voice is filled with happiness, but I can sense the undertones of worry in it.  
A pang of guilt strikes deep in my chest for not even knowing. I do miss them...I just don't want to endanger them. Leorio must notice the shift in my attitude, for he changes the subject.  
"So...what are you up to nowadays? I know you held a funeral, and the eyes are safe...lost track of you when I left the Zodiacs though."  
"Good." I laugh, meaning it as a joke, but he looks at me with distaste.  
More silence passes, only interrupted by the passing of the cigarette and the noise of cars whizzing by below.  
"Sorry for..taking you for granted, Leorio. Sorry for being gone so long." I stammer, averting my eyes from his line of vision. The white cigarette butt catches my eye, though, as he throws it into the streets below. I furrow my brows, looking at him quizzically. Opening my mouth, I begin to protest his actions, but I'm stopped by warm, smoky-tasting lips on mine. He kisses me for a moment, drawing away and giving me a look of shame.  
"Sorry, I should have, uh...I couldn't..ah..." he trails off as my fingers grace my lips. I purse them, meeting his eyes. "K'rapika, I'm sorry, I..."  
Grabbing his tie harshly, I pull him down and lock his lips with mine. As ashamed as I am to admit it, Leorio is my first real kiss...and I absolutely love it.  
Tentatively, his hands lightly grace my back, slowly sliding down to grasp my hips. He pulls me against his body, kissing me sweetly. I can feel his stubble brushing against my face, and it's nice. I slide my hands the opposite of him - up his back and into his hair. He breaks from my lips, opening his eyes, but I desperately pull him closer again. He doesn't resist, kissing me again and again, for what feels like seconds but is probably 10 minutes. Eventually, I let go of him, sliding my hands down his chest. My eyes were closed the whole time, and I refuse to meet his gaze for a reason.  
"Can I kiss you again?" I pant, my face pressed to his warm chest. I can smell his cologne and hear his heartbeat.  
"Mmm..one condition. No, two."  
"What are they?" I ask, a little nervous.  
"One...you show me your eyes right now."  
I knew I wasn't getting away with that one. I open them, staring up at him. He laughs, smiling widely.  
"They're so pretty." He whispers, hand in my hair and thumb grazing my cheek. "I love your eyes."  
"Yeah, yeah, smooth talk. What's the second condition?"  
"Two: I do a little more than kiss you like a second grader."  
I blush slightly, but nod in agreement and rise up on my tip toes to meet him. He kisses me again, over and over, but this time he quickly slides his tongue into my mouth. After a second of being startled by this, I nervously slide mine back into his. He parts from me, kissing my lips and cheeks, my forehead. He returns to my lips, and I nudge against his lips with my tongue tentatively. We kiss like that for a little while, and it's the nicest feeling I've experienced in weeks. Not just physically, but...my chest feels warm, bursting with a shower of sparks and emotion.  
"Kurapika?" He asks me, chin on my head a little while later.  
"Hm?"  
"Have you ever been in love?"  
"Ah..." I blush at that, stammering out a fake response. "Y-yes."  
"Liar."  
"Caught me." I smile, relaxing again. "Have you?"  
"No."  
Silence fills the small space between us.  
"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" He asks a moment later.  
"No...not like that. Have you?"  
"Huh?! For real? You're a natural!" I laugh at that, awaiting a full response from him. "And yeah, something close to that. I've never...felt that way about someone before, though."  
"Mmm." I smile, nuzzling into his chest. It's got to be at least 2 AM by now, but I'm not tired at all.  
People take people for granted, I learned that at 13.  
Hate and rage are powerful things, that can overthrow all the good, all the purity in a person. But even someone who's hellbent on revenge, someone who's broken and dirty, someone who's used and been used can love, and can be loved. I learned that at 21.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing for a while, but I'm rather rusty as I didn't even warm up before I wrote this. It's pretty short, as well. This is my first published work here, so I'm kinda just testing the waters. Thank you very much for reading and leaving kudos!


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